Concentrator



Nunrrso STATES N herrn raient CONRAD MEYER; OF SAN FRANCSC'O, CALIFORNA.

Application filed September To all whom it may conoci CONCENTRATOR.

Be it known that l, CONRAD M. MEYER, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, and aresident of San Francisco, county and State ot California,

oit- San Francisco, have invented a new and useful Concentrator, oiwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to iinproveinents in conccntrators and hasparticular reference to a stationary concentrator for y separatinginetals from ore containing the saine, or troni inill tailin,D

Os. It is particularly proposed to provide a grooved plate constructedin such a Way as to automaticall i eilect a separation o` eral particlestroni ore or t the heavier ininroni mill tailings hy passing theinaterial mixed with Water over the inclined surface of the plate and`guiding the heavier particles into longitudinal collecting channels,thence to a recep nele, and the lighter Waste to thehottoin oi' theplate, thence to a Was-te channel.

lt is further proposed to utilize `for this purpose.intersectingdiagonal grooves, preterably of approxin'iately s section in the` top.tace

einicircular cross-` oi the plate, the

grooves communicating at their lower ends with the channels referred to,and the de-` livering grooves heing'niade slightly deeper than thegrooves traversing the saineso that p articles once grooves followcaught i the course n the delivering of the same Without `neing forcedinto a `nigzig course.

lt is further proposed guards on either side oi to provide lateral thegrooved plate covering the channels previously referred to andcontrolling the intake area of the cliannels. is a further feature o inyinvention these guards are provided with hoods over the discharge endsoit the various grooves so as to 4enlarge the discharge area of thegrooves into the channels and to furthermore produce slighty eddycurrents at the discharge end otthe grooves whereby inaterial of lighterWeight is prevented troni en ilu tering the channels.

rther objects and ladvantages of i'ny device will appear as thespeciiication proceeds.

The preferred forni of iny invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 shows a topplan vievv oi the saine, Figure?,a vertical longitudinal section through the saine taken along the lineII--Il oi' Figure l, Figure 3 a vertical transverse section taken alongline Ill-lll of Figure l, Figure a an en d View ot the de- 2, 1924.`aerial No. 735,4f5.

vice, and Figure an enlarged detail vienvv in plan ci' a sniall portionof the grooved plate. lfilhile le have shown only the pre-` ferr-cd'forni of tlieinvcntion, I Wish to have it understood 'that variouschanges or inodh. fications inay he inode Within the scope oi'` theclaiins hereto attached Without depart` ing troni the spirit oat theinvention.

` lily concentrator comprises aboard ll oit suitable diinensicns whichhas inlaid therein a plate 2 ci heavy glass or other hard yn'iat-erialdesigned for long vvear. rlfhe top face of the plate is providedv T.vithintersecting diagonal grooves 'forined ot approximately semi-'circularcrosslsection. along the side edges oi.t the grooved plate pro videcollecting AChania-ils =l into which the grooves discharge. rine groovesare preterahly iliade son'iewhatdeeper at their dis! charge ends 'thanat 'their upper ends, the increased depth preferably starting thelongitudinal cent-er line oi the hoard so that each lower end ot eachgroove, counting troni the center line, is soinewhat deeper L than anyone cit the grooves crossing .the saine.

The object of this arrangement is to cause heavier particles caught inth discharge ends oi the grooves to tollenT the path oit the changes otdirection oi! the flowing material in .the grooves and frequent minglingof lcurrents from opposite directions, to increase the opportunities forthe rnaterial to he re-sorted and concentrated and tor the heavyparticles to Work their Way diagonally toward the collecting channel andfor the lighter Waste to he Washed dou/n to the bottoni ci the plateinto a Waste channel.

The hoard as a Whole may be inode oi any suitable torin, lout l iindthat it is inost advantageous to construct the hoard considerablynarrower than is the adopted custoin for riiile boards or concentratorsoit this character. @n the sides ot the hoard l provide iianges 6 whichrise ahove the level of the plate and which serve support for the twoguards 7 which are orined to ine- ITA eline from the top ot the flangesto the surface of the board so as to cover the collecting channels.

The guards prevent any material from entering the collecting channelexcept through the diagonal concentrate grooves. At the points wherethese grooves enter the collecting channel the guards are expanded intoarches or hoods 8, enlarging the area through which concentrates andwater may enter the collecting channels. rhese projecting hoods alsoserve the purpose of causing eddy currents in the medium flowing pastthe same whereby the lighter part-icles are deflected :trom theentrances into the collecting channels, while the heavier particlesremain practically unaffected.

The guards are preferably made removable and are held in place by aplurality ot spring clips 9 which may be engaged with the guards and thebottom of the board to ellect a clamping action.

rl`he two collecting channels discharge into a single transverse channell0 tronA which latter the collected concentrates may be received in asuitable receptacle or may pass onto a second plate for 'furtherconcentration.

In use the plate is supported on an incline by and suitable means (notshown in the drawing), and matter to be separated mixed with water ismade to .tlow over the plate. rlhe heavier particles naturally worktheir way to the bottom and are constantly re-mixed and re-sorted bypassing over the grooves unt-il the heaviest particles Iinally findtheir way into the somewhat deeper delivering grooves and are carriedalong to the end of the same and discharged into the collectingchannels.

rllhe slanting guards assist in smoothing the liow of the medium7 andthe small hoods ell'ect slight eddy currents at the bottom ol the mediumfor diverting lighter materials from the collecting channels, while atthe same time they allow heavier particles gathered in the deliveringgrooves to be freely discharged into the collect-ing channels. Theguards can be easily removed tor the purpose ot inspecting and cleaningthe collecting channels.

l claim l. ln a eoncentrator ot the character describen, an inclinedclement having intersecting diagonal grooves with dishcd bottoms andsteep remote edges in the 'top lace thereof.

2. ln a stationary conccntrator oit the character described, an inclinedelement having upon its top face two sets of parallel diagonal groovescrossing each other and each set discharging` on opposite sides into alaterally placed collecting channel.

lnv a stationary conccntrator of the character described, an inclinedcleniient having upon its top tace two sets ot parallel diagonal groovescrossing each other, each groove having a shallow section extendingJfrom the edge downwardly to the center and a deeper section extendingtrom the centei` line downwardly and outwardly vto the lateral dischargeend.

el. ln a ccncentrator ot the character described, an inclined elementhaving longitudinal collecting channels along the side edges thercol,diagonal grooves in the tcp face discl'iarging into the said collectingchannels and guards over the collecting channels controlling the intuirearca of the same with hoods formed in the guards over the groovesenlarging the discharge arca thereof and causing eddy currents in ainedium flowing over the inclined element.

'ONRAD M. MEYER.

